CRN Deep Dive: How can partners close the seemingly wide digital skills gap?

Partners have identified that AI and cyber demand are driving a digital skills gap.

Partners are facing growing demand for digital transformation projects, but Australia’s digital skills gap is hampering their ability to meet customer demand.

A recent Digital Pulse report from the Australian Computer Society shows businesses are staring down the barrel of cybersecurity and AI shortages.

Nathan Lowe, managing director at ASI solutions confirms this noting that he sees the most critical skill shortages in cybersecurity, software development and AI.

Furthermore, these three skills are the same areas driving Australia’s digital transformation agenda, Lowe added.

“These shortages are slowing projects, delaying transformation and creating a real risk that innovation will outpace capability,” he said.

“The common thread is that every organisation is now a digital organisation, and without the right human capability, even the best technology won’t deliver value.”

Partners identify skills shortages as their primary challenge, pointing to a pressing need for upskilling, according to Tech Data’s Direction of Technology 2025 report.

The report surveyed 1,412 channel partners across 40 countries, including 300 in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), and almost 80 percent identified difficulties in hiring or retaining talent as one of their major challenges.

Robbie Upcroft, country manager ANZ at Tech Data told CRN Australia, “The skills shortage is slowing technology adoption, particularly in AI and cloud, which impacts partners’ ability to deliver modern solutions.”

It’s also creating operational constraints, limiting partners’ capacity to scale and delayed projects and slower growth affect outcomes and customer confidence.

Upcroft recommends partners utilise any training, frameworks and other resources such as use-case development, test-ready solutions and technical expertise provided by distributors to help develop their skills and understanding.

“Beyond formal upskilling, partners need to rethink how they operate. AI and automation can streamline routine tasks, improve efficiency, and free teams to focus on higher-value work,” he said.

“Creating a culture of continuous learning is equally important for retaining talent and sustaining innovation.”

Upcroft acknowledges that it’s going to take widespread collaboration to address the skills gap.

“By working with industry bodies, educational institutions and training providers, businesses can tap into the latest expertise and keep capability pipelines future-ready,” he said.

AI demand is adding to the skills gap

AI is opening new paths for innovation but it’s also adding to the skills gap as organisations and partners scramble to meet rising demand.

It’s most acute in data engineering and AI enablement skills, especially roles that bridge data architecture, according to Vito Rinaldi, managing director, Blue Crystal Solutions.

As demand for secure, sovereign services is growing, the real capability pressure sits where AI, data engineering and compliance intersect. Practitioners that combine technical depth with governance awareness are highly valued, but the talent pool is limited.

“The demand for specialists who understand how to integrate AI into enterprise systems responsibly is rapidly outpacing supply,” Rinaldi said.

For Rinaldi, the challenge is finding people with engineering capability and an understanding of governance, compliance and business context.

“As AI adoption accelerates, organisations need multidisciplinary talent that can handle both innovation and risk,” he explained.

Blue Crystal Solutions feels these pressures directly because its customers often operate in regulated and sensitive sectors where sovereignty, security and trust are non-negotiable. Its workforce is fully domestic, where the talent pool is naturally smaller and the security expectations are higher.

“Operating to this standard means our work requires highly skilled talent, and sourcing those skills is competitive within a constrained market,” he said.

The business is finding that the skills gap is not preventing delivery, but instead is reshaping how projects are structured and scaled. For example, demand for secure AI and modern data platforms is increasing faster than traditional recruitment can support, especially in regulated sectors that require domestic capability.

Instead of trying to grow headcount at the same pace, the business is focusing on repeatable delivery frameworks, automation and accelerators that reduce reliance on scarce specialist roles.

“This approach allows us to maintain quality and delivery timeframes while meeting rising demand, particularly for private LLMs and enterprise-grade data engineering services,” he told CRN Australia.

How to address the skills gap

Upcroft at Tech Data acknowledges that it’s going to take widespread collaboration to address the skills gap.

“By working with industry bodies, educational institutions and training providers, businesses can tap into the latest expertise and keep capability pipelines future-ready,” he said.

Solutions provider TechConnect is finding the pace of technology change means demand is exceeding the available talent pool.

The business is finding capability pressure is most acute in cloud engineering, cybersecurity, data architecture and AI/ML specialisations

“Skilled senior engineers and architects with real-world, hands-on delivery experience are especially difficult to find,” Malin Bergendahl, head of people and culture, and business enablement, TechConnect said.

The firm is finding that engagements are becoming more complex, with customer seeking deeper specialisation, faster outcomes and advisory services.

“The talent gap becomes more visible as project complexity grows,” Bergendahl told CRN Australia.

The market shortage limits how quickly TechConnect can scale and respond to new opportunities, while the competition for specialised skills also drives up salary expectations — a squeeze that can impact long-term project economics.

To address the shortage, it’s investing heavily in internal capability development and retention, strengthening career pathways, technical capability frameworks and progression models.

“It’s giving our people a clear line of sight to long-term growth,” said Malin Bergendahl, head of people and culture, and business enablement, TechConnect.

Is government support needed?

As demand for specialised AI and cybersecurity skills increases, the constraints in the talent market are putting pressure on delivery capacity and slowing the pace at which partners like Adactin can scale to meet customer needs.

Talent shortages are affecting its ability to deliver projects on time and limiting growth opportunities, particularly in their SME business lines, according to Navneesh Garg, CEO Adactin.

The business is investing heavily in staff development, creating internal training pathways focused on emerging technologies such as AI and cybersecurity.

It also introduced certification incentive programs to help staff develop professional skills aligned with customer needs.

Garg believes it’s like the early days of cloud adoption, and it will take time for the market to readjust.

“However, given the speed at which AI is advancing, organisations will likely find themselves in a constant race to keep up with evolving capability requirements,” he told CRN Australia.

He sees a role for government support to investment in training and upskilling the existing workforce combined with targeted skilled migration in areas with the greatest need such as AI and cybersecurity.

“Strengthening local capability while attracting specialised talent from abroad will help close the growing skills gap and support sustainable industry growth,” he ended.